Sara Aiko, founder of travel boutique Curated Kyoto, picked Nanzenji Harada as one of her favourite local food and drink spots in the city.

Located in a renovated machiya (wooden townhouses found throughout Kyoto) that is more than 100 years old, Nanzenji Harada specialises in dashi broth made from freshly cut bonito flakes.

‘Every dish is made purely from dashi and doesn’t use any preservatives or other condiments,’ Sara says.

The restaurant relies on traditional methods and simple clean flavours, so it doesn’t use any other seasoning like salt, sugar, soy sauce, mirin or miso.